Improvement in bee-hives



@ l tent l @time J. J. FREY AND A. J. FREY, ,OF,HOOKS POINT, IOWA. Letters PatentNo. 88,157, dated March. 23, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-RIVES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters'Patent and making par't of the sama.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J. J'. FREY and A. J. FREY, both of Hooks Point, in theounty of Hamilton, and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bee-Hives; and we do hereby declare' that' the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to cert-ain improvements in bee-hives, and consists mainly in the general construction and arrangement of the hive for Ventilating-purposes, and also in certain devices for making it mothproof, the details of all of which will be fully described hereinafter.

In the drawings- Figure 1 represents a perspective view of our-improved bee-hive;

Figui@ 2, a sectional elevation through t-h'e line :Is-0, g 1

Iligure 3, a sectional elevation through the line il-y, i

gFigure 4-, a sectional view of the bee-entrance,through the line y-y, iig. 2;

Figure 5, a perspective view of the slide boxes covering the side ventilators;

Figure 6, a sectional elevation of the same in the line m-x, iig. 5; and

Figure 7, a perspective view of the inner side of the Ventilating moth-chamber.

To enable others skilled in the art to which our invention appertains, to make and use the samewe will now proceed to describe its construct-ion and operation.'

A represents the stand;

B, the chamber for the bees; and

C, the honey-cap.

The stand, or bench A is provided with the ventilator A, of rectangular shape, as shown, which hasa sliding bottom, by means of which it may be thoroughly cleaned, when desired.

It has also the bee-entrance A2, of peculiar construction, which, connecting with the bee-chamber by means of the elbow a, slopes in adownward direction, as shown, and extends beyond the hive a short distance, asis customary.

Over thebee-pipe, or entrance proper, which is desi gnated in the drawings by the letter a,is placed a case, or tube, a, which is provided with a hinged door, or ilap, a3.

The pipe proper, al, is constructed with its side pieces extending beyond its upper and lower pag'ts, in such manner as to form, with the caseai, supplemental tubes a* a4, above and below, as clearly shown in tig. 4.

These tubes a* extend into and terminate in the chamber A3 in the stand. A

a5 represents a slide, which tits closely within the bee-pipe, when closed, and effectually cuts off all entrance to the hive.

a's a5 represent tapering passages beneath the upper board -of the stand A, which lead into the chamber A, which latter, it will be observed, has Ano connection whatever with the hive proper.

The bee-chamber B is provided, upon its rear side, with a door, b, which has a covered glass, b, through which the operation of the bees may be seen when desired, without disturbing them.

In this chamber are placed the honey-frames B1, which slide upon the rods b2 b3, located above and be low, as shown.

These frames are peculiarly constructed. They are provided with the notches b* b* in their ends, which serve to coniine the frames to the rods. side of the frame is provided, also, with a groove, which extends its entire length, and in which'the upper rod rests.

The upper part of the bee-chamber consists of a honey-board, B", which is not fastened to the main part of the hive, but is so arranged as to slide in and out, when desired.

B3 represents ventilators in the sides of the beechamber, which are covered upon the outside by the peculiarly-constructed sliding boxes B, which are shown in figs. 1, 5, and'.

These boxes slide in grooves in slats b, which are attached to the hive, as shown in iig. 1. They are provided with but two sides, (outer and 1ower,) the upper and inner being wanting. i

lhese boxes do not shut closely over the ventilator, but a space is left between the ventilator and the outer wall of the box, which is indicated i-n lig. 6, by bs.

The slats b5 are provided with tapering passages, as shown in tig. 1, through which the air is admitted to lthe hive through the ventilator, and through which, also, the moth may readily pass, but only to be battled in its attempt to gain entrance.

The honey-cap O is provided with framessimilar to those in the bee-chamber, but smaller. It has also sliding doors, constructed as shown in iig. 3, by means of which a tight joint is made.

Extending above the honey-cap O is theventilat-or D, whichis so arranged as to be easily removed, if desired.

E represents the roof, covering all the hive.

By the construction and arrangement herein de scribed, an extremely desirable hive is obtained, which possesses many advantages over the ordinarr forms now 1u use.

It is almost perfectly moth-proof, the arrangements for enticing the moth into the moth-chamber, and into the side boxes'B, being in perfect accordance with their habits, and such as must necessarily be successful.

The manner of Ventilating is such that pure air circulates through the hive freely, at all times, and in all weathers, without exposing the bees to draughts of air. The tight joints exclude all dampness. The form of the hive is desirable. heat of summer by the roof, and also bythe honey-cap. By removing the roof, and Baking oii the upper ven- The upper The bees are protected from the ti'laltor, the hive is open in such manner thatvbees from another' hive can be easily driven into it. This, at times, is a great convenience.

The honey-board B2 may be teken out, when necessary, for the purpose of separating the frames, when they become united by the comb.

If desired, the hive may be made double, for two swarms, in which case one system of ventilators will answer for both.

Having thus fully described our invention,

What we claim, and desire to secure-by Letters Patent is l l. -The moth-chamber A, having the tubes a* and passages a, as and for the purpose described.

2. The bee-pipe a, with slidel a5, when combined with the case a2, in the manner described, for the purpose set forth.

3; The honey-flames B, constructed as described, when used in connection with the rods b2 b3, in the manner described, for the purpose set forth.

4. The sliding boxes B4, covering ventilators B3, when constructed and arranged substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

A, B3, B3, :md D, when constructed and arranged sub` stantiztlly as described, for the purpose set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed, this 17th dzty of December, A. D. 1'868.

J. J. FREY. A. J. FREY.

Witnesses:

L. G. VROMAN, J. W. ARMSTRONG.

5. The hive A 13 C, provided with the ventilators 

